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Registration OpenSCHEDULE | 10 to 17 January 2026
HOURS | 9:30 to 16:30 (lunch 12:30 to 13:30) 12 hours total
INSTRUCTOR | Patrick Byrnes
LANGUAGE | English
TUITION FEE | €325
LIMIT | 16 students
RECOMMENDED LEVEL | Beginning to advanced artist levels are welcome, although prior experience painting the live model is recommended.
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Course Description
In this two-day workshop (with an optional preliminary three-hour open session/instructor
demo), artists will make a portrait painting from the live model using a limited palette of
oil colors following a lucid, two-step process that emphasizes accurate draftsmanship,
analytical color mixing, and sensitive rendering.
Patrick will guide artists with daily demonstrations and comprehensive personalized critiques through each stage of the process: from creating a convincing likeness with structural drawing, to rational color mixing of flesh tones via analysis of the relative properties of hue, value and
chroma, to rendering the light effect in a single pass of oil paint to create a convincing
illusion of dimensional form. Cranial anatomy, materials, paint handling, brushwork, edges, and the physics of light will also be discussed throughout each session.
Lessons begin with short lectures to introduce key concepts followed by a 5-hour painting session from the live model, with Patrick offering detailed, customized critiques to each artist. While this workshop is mainly geared towards painters with some previous experience in oils,
all artists from beginning to advanced are welcome; instruction will be customized to
individual levels of experience.
Optional: 26 November Demo, 14:00 - 17:00
Students may also opt to join a half-day painting demonstration from Patrick on Wednesday afternoon, which will feature an open sketch session from the live model and a comprehensive step-by-step overview of Patrick's full alla prima painting process.
In this two-day workshop (with an optional preliminary three-hour open session/instructor
demo), artists will make a portrait painting from the live model using a limited palette of
oil colors following a lucid, two-step process that emphasizes accurate draftsmanship,
analytical color mixing, and sensitive rendering.
Patrick will guide artists with daily demonstrations and comprehensive personalized critiques through each stage of the process: from creating a convincing likeness with structural drawing, to rational color mixing of flesh tones via analysis of the relative properties of hue, value and
chroma, to rendering the light effect in a single pass of oil paint to create a convincing
illusion of dimensional form. Cranial anatomy, materials, paint handling, brushwork, edges, and the physics of light will also be discussed throughout each session.
Lessons begin with short lectures to introduce key concepts followed by a 5-hour painting session from the live model, with Patrick offering detailed, customized critiques to each artist. While this workshop is mainly geared towards painters with some previous experience in oils,
all artists from beginning to advanced are welcome; instruction will be customized to
individual levels of experience.
Optional: 26 November Demo, 14:00 - 17:00
Students may also opt to join a half-day painting demonstration from Patrick on Wednesday afternoon, which will feature an open sketch session from the live model and a comprehensive step-by-step overview of Patrick's full alla prima painting process.
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Supply List
We generally carry all items listed available for sale directly in the studio.
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DRAWING TOOLS
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PAINTING TOOLS
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Discounts & Financial Aid
To support artists in our community, DARA has several discounts on offer for our 2026 workshop roster - please see terms and conditions below. Additionally, you may be eligible for third-party subsidies to help fund your education at DARA.
Please note that the following offers apply to our Workshop Programme only. Available discounts may differ for our Trimester Programme & Bootcamps.
Please note that the following offers apply to our Workshop Programme only. Available discounts may differ for our Trimester Programme & Bootcamps.
Early Bird Discount
Save 10% off any 2026 Spring or Summer Workshop
You are eligible for this discount if you register between 10 to 30 November for any workshop scheduled between the months of April to September 2026 and you reserve your space by paying a deposit within 14 days of your letter of acceptance.
Terms & Conditions:
Terms & Conditions:
- If you enrol in multiple courses, this discount applies to the workshop with the lowest tuition fee.
- If you cancel your enrolment and then decide to join the course at a later time, the discount is void.
- If your deposit payment is not received by the deadline (within 14 days of your letter of acceptance), the discount is void.
- If you enrol in a workshop at the Early Bird rate, and then later decide to transfer to a different workshop, the discount is void.
- This discount does not apply to the workshop "Drawing the Portrait: Structure & Form" with Kevin Muller-Cisneros, scheduled in January 2026. Kevin's workshop has a separate special discount on offer if you combine his workshop with portrait sculpting at Figura, Amsterdam.
Artist Discount
Registering for multiple workshops? The more courses you take, the more you save!
To support our dedicated students, DARA offers a successive discount rate for each workshop you join in 2026.
What you save:
Terms & Conditions:
What you save:
- 2 Workshops: save 5% off the combined total of tuition fees;
- 3 Workshops: save 7,5% off the combined total of tuition fees;
- 4+ Workshops: save 10% off the combined total of tuition fees.
Terms & Conditions:
- You can combine this discount with the Early Bird discount.
- If you cancel your enrolment in one or more workshops, the full discount will no longer apply.
- This discount only applies to our Workshop Programme. If you enrol in only one workshop, but also join some other type of course (a trimester course, bootcamp, etc.) you are not eligible for this discount.
Subsidies & Financial Aid
Career Development for Creative Professionals: Funding up to €2.000
If you work in the creative sector in the Netherlands, either for a company or as a ZZP'er, you may be eligible for third-party funding from Werktuig-PPO.
Please check terms & eligibility here.
Please check terms & eligibility here.
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Tuition Fee & What's IncludedINCLUDED | The tuition fee includes 12 hours of studio instruction, model fees, complimentary lunch served daily, coffee / tea / light refreshments during all hours, basic studio equipment (easels, stools, drawing boards), and an end-of-workshop borrel (alcoholic & non-alcoholic drinks and light bites.)
NOT INCLUDED | Accommodation, airfare, transport costs, and drawing or painting supplies are not included with the tuition fee.
WHAT'S FOR LUNCH? | We serve a complimentary light lunch, prepared daily in house with love. Typical lunches include sandwiches, soups, salads, wraps, and other light and healthy fare. Menus change daily. We are happy to accommodate vegetarian & vegan diets.
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Payment Deadlines
Acceptance when there is more than 1 month before the start of the workshop:
To keep your place on hold, a deposit payment must be made within 14 days of your acceptance letter:
- Option 1: The entire tuition fee is paid in one sum.
- Option 2: You pay in two parts: the first half is the deposit, and the second half is paid one month before the first day of class.
- Option 3: You sign up via our ecommerce platform to pay in monthly instalments, of between 3 to 6 instalments total according to your preference. The first instalment is considered the deposit. A 5% surcharge is added when you select this option.
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Acceptance when there are 4 weeks or less before the start of the workshop:
The full cost of tuition is due within 5 working days of your acceptance letter. Tuition fees must be paid in full before the first day of lessons in order to participate.
Cancellation & Studio Policies
- If you cancel your enrolment, you may be eligible for a full or partial refund. DARA is not liable for the cost of accommodation, airfare or travel, or any other student expenses associated with the workshop.
Full Refund
1) If you cancel within 14 days of paying your first instalment of tuition fees, you receive a full refund, even if the course already began.* (*In this situation, you are required to pay the cost of services rendered. This is calculated by the number of lessons that were completed at the time you cancelled, regardless of whether or not you attended class. The remaining balance is refunded.)
2) If you cancel more than 6 months before the start of the workshop, you receive a full refunded.
3) If you cancel at any time before the workshop, and either you or DARA is able to find someone else to take your place, you receive a full refund 14 days after the alternate student has paid to reserve the vacant space.
Partial Refund
1) If you cancel when there are more than 4 weeks, but fewer than 6 months, before the start of the workshop, DARA retains 50% of the total tuition fee. If you have paid more than 50% of the tuition fee, than the remaining balance is refunded to you.
Please note that if we are able to find someone else to fill your place in the workshop, we will refund you in full 14 days after the alternate student has reserved the available space.
Situations where you are not eligible for a refund
1) You are not eligible for a refund if you cancel when there are fewer than 4 weeks before the start of the workshop. However, please note that we will waive this policy and refund you in full if we can find someone else to take your place before the workshop begins.
2) You are not eligible for a refund if you are absent from class, or you withdraw from the workshop for any reason after the course starts. You are also not eligible to credit your tuition fee to a different course in this situation. - Crediting your tuition fee to a different workshop is permitted in the following circumstances:
Conditions of eligibility
1) There are more than 6 weeks before the start of the workshop you were originally accepted to.
2) You will transfer to a specific course which is currently open for registration at DARA. We are not able to keep tuition fees on hold for a hypothetical course at some unfixed time in the future.
3) The course you would like to transfer into has places available, and if there are any eligibility requirements, you meet them.
4) If there is a price difference between the two courses, such that the tuition fee of the course you want to transfer into costs less than your original workshop, DARA will refund the difference in tuition fees up to €300. Any amount left over is retained by DARA.
DUTCH ATELIER OF REALIST ART
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